Episodes
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
LESSONS FROM FOOT WASHING-PART II (John 13:1-17)
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
This is the second part of a message on the lessons we can learn from the portion of Scripture where Jesus is in the Upper Room and He washes the feet of His disciples. One thing I want us to remember as we go through this message is that we shouldn’t focus on the physical act of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, but on the spiritual messages that Jesus was illustrating by performing this act of service. Our Lord is teaching personal service to one another.
Eph 4:32
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
KJV
What our Lord was doing is saying, "Peter, I am going to forgive you your trespasses. I'm going to wash your feet." Well, if Jesus has forgiven me of my trespasses, then I need to forgive each of you of your trespasses. That's what it's all about. Jesus says, "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, then you need to wash one another's feet." You need to forgive your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you need to build them up in the faith. There are people around you whose feet you need to wash, spiritually, because Jesus has washed our feet.
Gal 6:1-2
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
KJV
How dare we go around refusing to forgive and restore and renew. Our Lord expects us to be in the foot washing business. There ought to be no animosity, no unforgiving spirit. "Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet."
Click on the link below to hear four lessons that we can learn from foot washing:
• Salvation is essential.
• Security is eternal.
• Sanctification is extended.
• Service is expected.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
LESSONS FROM FOOT WASHING-PART I (John 13:1-13)
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Our messages over the next couple of weeks are going to be about the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Now, I have heard many sermons on this portion of Scripture, and the majority of those sermons focused on being humble servants of the Lord, and we will talk about that, as well. But, I am also going to talk about what the Bible has to say about foot washing, and how that applies to us in this day and in this age.
In the Lord’s day, foot washing was a common practice. It was not a religious service, or ritual, but it was a very common practice. It was just something everybody did on a regular basis. There were public baths, and going down the street, if your feet were tired and dirty and dusty, you could go in there and a slave, or a servant, would wash your feet. If you had a wealthy home, generally there would be by the door a basin of water, and if you were receiving guests into your house, the first thing they would do would be to slip off their sandals and step inside the threshold of your house. Again, if you had a servant, that servant would be there with a towel and a basin. You would put your feet in that basin. There'd be a little stool there, and this servant would wash your feet, give them a gentle massage, and dry them with a towel.
Now, this exercise wasn’t just a luxury, or for show, there was a practical reason why they did this foot washing. What was that reason? Well, think about it for a moment. They didn't have paved sidewalks like we have. They didn't have asphalt or concrete streets either. Only the busiest streets were paved with bricks, but most were just hardened paths. This means that everything was dusty and dirty, and the people, for the most part, wore sandals. They didn't have leather shoes like we have today to keep out the dust and the dirt. Therefore, foot washing was a practical thing, but it was also a mark of hospitality.
Now, there are some great lessons here for us to learn in this portion of Scripture, and I would pray to God that we can all learn it. Today, I am only going to get to one lesson that we can learn, but next week we will cover several more lessons concerning foot washing.
Click on the link below to hear a lesson concerning salvation. We need to know that salvation is essential. Today, you may be sitting a church with an open Bible in your hand, taking notes, but you've never been saved. You may be reading this blog, or listening to the podcast message, but you have never been saved. When Jesus said, "Ye are clean, but not all of you," He's teaching us that salvation, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is essential. If your desire is to live with Jesus in heaven for all of eternity, then it is absolutely necessary.
Amen.
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
STUBBORN UNBELIEF (John 12:37-50)
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Jesus Christ has been my Lord and Savior since I was a young man. His Holy Spirit has lived in my heart for more than 50 years. In fact, it is hard for me to remember a time when the Holy Spirit was not my constant companion in everything that I did. I have chosen to live my life in the center of God’s will. I am God’s servant and that is the desire of my heart, to serve God in all that I do. However, that has not always been the case. There have been periods of my life when I have ignored Holy Spirit who lives within my heart. I have put Him in closet within my heart and told Him that He was not welcome in certain areas of my life. I wanted Him close by if I needed Him, but otherwise I didn’t want to be bothered. I wanted to live my life, my way. Now, every single time I did that, the Holy Spirit convicted me, chastised me, even took me out to the woodshed to discipline me. In short, I failed in all aspects of my life when Jesus was not first in my life. It is when Jesus is the President of my life, not just a resident, that I truly live an abundant life in the way God wants me to live.
As a result of this lifelong relationship with Jesus, it is sometimes hard for me to understand why someone would choose to reject Jesus as the Son of God, as their Lord, and as their Savior. Knowing what I know and what it has meant to me, it just doesn’t make sense to me why the vast majority of people would turn away from the free gift of eternal life in heaven with Jesus. It boggles my mind. Yet, it is true. Whether it is for self-centered reasons, or to chase after a false religion, they deliberately, willfully, and knowingly, choose to reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It doesn’t mean they cannot be reached. It doesn’t mean that they are morally bad people. It just means that, so far, they have made a deliberate decision to reject Christ. It means that if they were to die today, they would spend eternity in Hell, without God. Unfortunately, the longer a person lives rejecting Jesus, the harder it gets to ever reach them with the truth of who Jesus is. In other words, their mind is set in its ways. Their heart becomes hardened to the gospel message that is found in the Bible. They say, it cannot be true. That the words of the Bible have been corrupted by man. When you die, you die, and that is it.
Listen to me, the Bible is the one true word of God, and the God that I believe in, is powerful enough to protect His word from any efforts by man to corrupt it. If you believe that man can corrupt God’s Word, then you do not believe in the same almighty Creator of all things that I do. You do not believe in the God of the Bible.
I also believe that there comes a time in everyone’s life when they must choose Jesus as their Savior, or to reject Him. The Holy Spirit is patient with each of us.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
KJV
Jesus declared that He stands at the door knocking.
Rev 3:20
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
KJV
Jesus wants you to choose Him, but when the Holy Spirit determines that your decision is final, He will stop convicting you, and walk away. He will harden your heart to the word of God, and you will be doomed to die and go to Hell.
Click on the link below to hear a message about how the Jews, in their stubborn unbelief, finally rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus stopped knocking, stopped pleading with them, and then hardened their hearts.
Amen.